US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said there is "irrefutable evidence" Edmund Gonzalez's victory.
The United States on Thursday evening recognized opposition presidential candidate Edmund Gonzalez as the winner of the country's controversial presidential election.
The New York Times reports this.
Secretary of State Antony Blinken's statement came despite the country's authoritarian President Nicolas Maduro and the government-controlled elected body claiming that Maduro won Sunday's election.
Maduro has yet to provide clear evidence of his victory, and election officials have not yet reported the results of the vote count. González's office says it has results from more than 80% of polling stations indicating the opposition candidate won by an insurmountable margin.
The U.S. decision is likely to anger Maduro, who has long viewed the U.S. government as imperialist and meddling in the affairs of other countries. However, it is unclear whether the U.S. announcement will have any impact on Maduro's ability to hold on to power.
In his statement, Blinken pointed to “incontrovertible evidence” of González's victory that the U.S. and, most importantly, the Venezuelan people understand.
“We congratulate Edmund González on his successful campaign. It is now time for Venezuelan parties to begin discussions on a serious, peaceful transition of power in accordance with Venezuela's electoral laws,” Blinken added.
After the statement was released, Maduro wrote on the social media site X that he was open to dialogue with the White House “if the U.S. government is willing to respect sovereignty and stop threatening Venezuela.”
González, who is backed by popular opposition leader María Corina Machado, was the most serious electoral threat to Maduro since he came to power in 2013.
Maduro's movement, known as Chavismo, has controlled Venezuela for a quarter of a century, ever since his predecessor, President Hugo Chavez, was elected promising a “socialist revolution.” Under their leadership, Venezuela has become an authoritarian state that arrests dissidents, suppresses protests with force, and rigs elections.
After the elections, angry supporters of González and Machado took to the streets to protest, leading to a crackdown by security forces and pro-government militias. At least 17 people were killed in the clashes, according to the human rights group Foro Penal and the outlet's sources. Security forces have arrested about 750 people, according to the country's attorney general.
Machado called on her supporters to march in Caracas, the capital, on Saturday with Venezuelan flags as a “symbol of freedom.”
On Monday morning, just hours after polls closed, the government-controlled electoral body said Maduro had won 51 percent of the vote, while González had won 44 percent. But the opposition tallied González with 67 percent.
Steve Levitsky, a Harvard democracy expert, called Maduro’s claim of victory “one of the greatest electoral frauds in modern Latin American history.”
Blinken’s announcement of González’s victory was likely welcomed by those who wanted Washington to take a tough line. However, the publication notes that it is unlikely that this statement will actually have much effect.
Five years ago, the Trump administration also supported Maduro's rival, then-head of the Venezuelan legislature Juan Guaidó, who declared himself the legitimate president. Guaidó cited an article of the constitution that allows the head of the National Assembly to hold an executive position in certain situations.
For a brief time, it even seemed that Maduro might be removed from power, but the popular and political momentum of support for Guaidó faded, after which he fled to the United States. Today, Maduro points to this episode as proof of his strength and America's weakness.
This week, Maduro asked the Supreme Court of Venezuela, which is controlled by his supporters, to resolve the election dispute. Today, July 2, both presidential contenders are scheduled to appear in court.
Recall that protests broke out in several cities in Venezuela after the election authorities officially declared Maduro the winner of the presidential race. In the capital Caracas, security forces used tear gas to disperse a large crowd of protesters
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